For content relating to personal (non-medical) anecdotes
This past year I became a certified Green Dot instructor. Let me tell you why it is important to me - and should be important to you.
My daughter and I were standing on line in an upscale cross-country ski lodge near Sun Valley. The man in front of us ordered for himself and then his somewhat younger and obviously starstruck female companion. Their order consisted of two hamburgers, two coffees, and two large chocolate-chip cookies, and their bill came to about $30. He handed the guy behind the counter a $100 bill and said, just a bit louder than necessary, “Keep the change.”
This week, waiting at a local hairdresser for my appointment, I had an unnerving experience.
Two women came in together and sat down. They were talking enthusiastically about the previous night’s State of the State address by Governor Lepage, pleased with how well he spoke and looking forward to some of his promises. At one point, one of the women said: “It’s too bad they won’t let him do what he wants. If they did, he’d get rid of all those Somalis.”
After four decades in medicine, I retired from the active practice of primary care 15 months ago. I still get asked at least once a day: “Well, how’s retirement treating you?” My usual reply is that it is a learning process. A more accurate response would be that it is like playing Tetris, but with pieces that change shape and rotate unpredictably as they fall.
(For those not of a certain age, here is Tetris:
This will become a page with my CV when I finish it.
Basic info:
Education:
Dartmouth College, BA 1969, German major. Foreign Study in Freiburg, Germany.
Clinical Pharmacology Fellowship, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, July 1971 - June 1972.
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, MD 1974
Training:
I am a family physician, now retired from active practice after four decades of doing and loving primary care. I am happily married for more than five decades. I have two fantastic grown children with interesting lives - who live too far away - and three of the neatest grandchildren in the world.
Lisl was very good high school skier but seemed not to have the race results she was capable of and everyone expected.
In practice, it was clear she had great technique and a good motor, and could stay at the front without difficulty. In races, however, she would set out looking fantastic but come in near the end of the pack, beaten by skiers with much less ability than she, and seemed happy with her race. It never seemed to bother her. In fact, she never complained and was always one of the happiest in the van on the way home.b
You can’t make this stuff up. I pulled into our local BJ’s gas station on a recent rainy morning. It was quite busy and I looked around for the shortest line to join, Seeing a woman in her early 20s who appeared to be finished fueling as she re-holstered the nozzle in the pump and returned to her car, I pulled in behind her, expecting to promptly be able to pull up and buy gas. A car pulled in behind me, so I was now committed.
As a child, I looked forward to the infrequent family outings that involved a restaurant. As the eldest of three, it gave me a chance to strut my stuff in front of my sisters: I was allowed to order without much interference, so it was a rare opportunity to have a cheeseburger, fries and the most chocolate item available for dessert.
After decades of hiking, camping, canoeing, kayaking and swimming in various back country environments, it finally happened. I have been colonized. Beaver fever, also known as giardiasis, caused by the protozoan Giardia lamblia. Enjoying my metronidazole.